Friday, November 28, 2008

Mumbai nuttiness

The reported Mumbai death tally has risen to 150, including fifteen foreigners... Some of the coverage is chimerical and this blogger wonders about the credulousness of the media that prints some of the more silly and/or fanciful statements. A few random examples include:
  • From 'Highly trained and motivated,' we learn that apparently Indian commandos are trained to resist sleep deprivation and can last a week without problems - "... Sleep deprivation training is sophisticated. Commandos are taught the art of keeping their eyes open for as long as a week without any visible signs of mental fatigue ..." Hah! Other articles have revealed that the terrorists were prepared because they carried packs of almonds to help fight fatigue!
  • Apparently this blogger is off the mark in thinking that firing indiscriminately and throwing grenades does not reveal great sophistication, at least according to an Indian commando, who said "... Not everybody can fire the AK series of weapons; not everybody can throw a grenade like that, it is obvious that they were trained somewhere ..."
  • MSNBC reports that at the Taj, on Friday "... at dusk, Indian forces began launching grenades at the building ..." Huh? Much more likely is the CNN version, that Indian commando were using flash-bang devices...
  • Hemant Karkare, head of the state's Anti-Terrorism Squad was killed during the rampage. According to CNN "... Footage from CNN's sister network, CNN-IBN, showed Karkare donning a helmet and putting a bulletproof vest over his light blue shirt as uniformed police officers with firearms and walkie-talkies surrounded him. It would be the last video taken of Karkare before terrorists shot him three times in the chest near Cama hospital ..." Hmm, something doesn't add up here.
Oh well, I guess there are column-inches and broadcast minutes to fill...

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